Chad has denied “amplifying the war in Sudan”, which has killed thousands of people, by arming the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, warring against the Sudanese army for over a year, AFP reported.
Chad’s government was accused of aiding the RSF by Sudan’s Darfur Governor Minni Minnawi, who heads a faction allied with the Khartoum government.
On Wednesday, Minnawi told radio station RFI he had travelled to Paris to “ask France to halt the role of the Chadian government in the transit through its territory of non-humanitarian aid – military equipment – to RSF-controlled areas in Sudan.”
Chad, which has taken in some 680,000 refugees from Sudan – more than any other country – rejected the claims on Thursday.
“Chad has no interest in amplifying the war in Sudan by supplying weapons,” said foreign minister and government spokesperson Abderaman Koulamallah, pointing out that Chad was “one of the rare countries upon which this war has had major repercussions.”
“We do not support any of the factions that are fighting on Sudanese territory – we are in favour of peace,” Koulamallah told RFI.
The fresh accusations came days after a report by the Sudan Conflict Observatory – a platform funded by the US Department of State – said “the UAE has facilitated weapons to the RSF” via the airport of Amdjarass in northeast Chad between June 2023 and May 2024.
“There are always very large quantities of military equipment that cross Chad to Sudan,” Darfur Governor Minnawi said.
Minnawi added that the weapons transit through multiple Chadian airports or via the port of Douala in Cameroon, before entering Sudan through the Adre border crossing.
“We have a good relationship with the United Arab Emirates… but this relationship in no way takes a military shape by supplying weapons to any faction,” said Koulamallah, denouncing “fanciful information.”
Peoplesmind
